Playing Frisbee on a Precipice

America's political class lacks the seriousness this moment demands.

By

Peggy Noonan

Updated Oct. 10, 2008 11:59 p.m. ET

There are 3&frac12; weeks to go. Life, and political campaigns, can turn on a dime. But I think it just turned on a lot of dimes.

There was an October surprise, and it has all but certainly decided the race. On the left, a smug triumphalism is setting in. On the right, anger rises: the finger pointing is about to begin. In parts and pockets of the middle, we have Americans who aren't thinking about politics because they're busy...